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Leah

As a crazy dog lady, it might come as a surprise that I’d never heard of Chewy.com until 2016. It was during a visit to a friend’s home with our two dogs in tow—they were there to play with our friend’s dogs—when I noticed a big box with the blue Chewy.com logo on the front step. My friend explained how Chewy had become the convenient and affordable way to keep a steady supply of kibble for Rocco and Marley, her two dogs. With two working parents and two high schoolers in their family, she never had to add “buy dog food” to her ever-growing to-do list. Chewy took care of that for her.

I was sold.

I understood that Chewy was convenient. However, I didn’t realize just how good their customer service was.

After placing my first order, I received a handwritten postcard in the mail, welcoming my dogs Oscar and Sadie to the Chewy family. When I had a question about my auto-ship orders, a real-life person answered my call. There was no automated phone system to deal with, just one of Chewy’s nearly 4,000 employees at its Florida offices.

Chewy Customer Service

“Since day one, personalized customer service has always been a core value of Chewy. The company’s goal was to combine the convenience of shopping online with a highly personalized customer experience, similar to what you would receive in your neighborhood pet store,” explains Kelli Durkin, Chewy vice president of customer service. “That’s one of the reasons why we have no automation in our customer service center. Chewy pet parents have access to us at all times, 365 days a year, 24/7. If they need to reach us at midnight on New Year’s Day, we’re here to answer their call.”

Chewy sends handwritten notes to new customers.

In fact, the whole reason co-founder and CEO Ryan Cohen founded Chewy in 2011 was to replicate the local shopping experience but with the convenience of shopping online.

The idea grew out of the fact that his five-pound teacup poodle Tylee needed a special diet. Since her premium pet food was not available online, it was a hassle whenever the dog ran out of food. He knew there had to be a more convenient way to shop and still provide a feel-good, intimate experience while stocking up for your pet.

Special Presents for Pet Parents

Talk about feel-good, just consider this Facebook post from my friend Alison (reprinted here with her permission), a jewelry maker, about a recent Chewy experience:

Ok, fellow pet people! Chewy.com totally blew me away today. I had an issue with an order, and in the correspondence they asked to see pics of my cats. A couple weeks later, they sent me these beautiful commissioned paintings of our Henry, Daisy and Jack. It’s safe to say they’ve won my business forever.

My friend Alison's cats immortalized in these paintings from Chewy.com

Turns out Alison isn’t the only customer to receive a custom oil painting of her pets. In addition, those paintings aren’t the only way that Chewy.com goes over and above in the customer service department.

“The pet portraits came about because we started receiving so many pet photos from our customers and, at first, we weren’t sure what to do with them,” says Durkin. “We wanted to use them in a way that was personal, memorable and fun for our customers and that’s how the idea came about. The pet portraits have really been a hit!”

Durkin says pets are selected for portraits at random, so customers are never expecting them. “I think that element of surprise is one reason why customers love them so much,” she adds.

It seems tons of Chewy customers have dogs and cats that love the boxes that deliveries come in—almost as much as what is inside the box. In fact, on the Chewy website, there is a gallery of various pets, both big and small, sitting in a variety of Chewy boxes, both big and small. I wonder if those box photos have been immortalized in paintings as well.

The Personal Approach

Over the holiday season, Durkin estimates that Chewy will be sending 5 million holiday cards to Chewy pet parents. But, like with Alison’s portraits of her cats, the customer service team is always trying to come up with new ways to “wow” customers. And to make the Chewy experience personal.

“We’ve sent housewarming baskets to customers who have recently moved, condolence flowers to pet parents that have lost their pets and fun gifts to customers who are celebrating a new milestone in their life,” says Durkin. A recent People article chronicled that extra effort to share their condolences.

Durkin shared another example of the Chewy approach to customer service: “A customer called to confirm an address on their account. During the call, they explained that their house had recently burned down and they were currently staying at a hotel. They said they were fine and were not hurt during the fire, but their daughters were upset because they just got new Disney Frozen-themed sheets. We sent the customer their order on us, and also included two sets of Frozen-themed sheets for their daughters.”

PetSmart Buys Chewy.com

Clearly, Chewy is doing something right, what with the glowing testimonials from my own friends as well as other customers. It’s no wonder then that PetSmart acquired the company in Spring 2017. According to Recode at $3.35 billion, it was the largest e-commerce acquisition ever.

Everything I’ve read says that PetSmart will continue to let Chewy operate as its own entity. And from what I’ve seen, nothing has changed as far as the level of service, prices or reliability.

“PetSmart and Chewy have a shared mission of a love of pets and serving pet lovers, which is the foundation of the business,” says Durkin. “We are still providing the same level of exceptional service to our customers. That’s something that will never change.”

When not covering pets or money-saving topics for Parade, you can find writer Leah Ingram hanging out with her two rescue pups Oscar and Sadie or working on her profitable online store called Puppieware™ by Pawsome Doggie. Puppieware™ sells dog-shaped cake pans and bakeware, dog theme birthday party supplies, and unique gifts and housewares for dog lovers. Use code PARADE to save 10 percent.